Motherhood is the strangest thing, it can be like being one’s own Trojan horse.

West’s comparison frames motherhood as an experience that carries something “inside” the self that can later transform, unsettle, or even overtake one’s prior identity—much as the Trojan horse concealed an unexpected force within. The “strangest thing” suggests ambivalence: motherhood can feel intimate and self-generated, yet also alien, as if one has introduced into one’s life a powerful presence with its own demands and trajectory. The image captures the paradox of agency and surrender: the mother chooses (or accepts) motherhood, but the consequences arrive from within and cannot be fully controlled. It also hints at the way maternal love and responsibility can reconfigure a woman’s inner life, priorities, and sense of autonomy.